(05 July 2018 - 10:07 AM)
So this has been a while! It's @jgjtan and @leftyy here having a nostalgia trip. We hope you all have been having a great time so far! Miss you, be back in another 5-10 years. (Or find me on social media -- it's not that hard.)

Less easy to pump out due to climate change?!?! I do not believe that this affidavit jives, unless of course I missed sarcasm. That happens every now and again. It's because I eat communism or butter or something.

ANYWAY!!!

Meh, alright, I gotta weigh in, as the oilfield provides the paycheck for my little family.

Screw the caribou.Drill ANWR. No animals will be harmed except for those giant mosquitoes, and one less cluster of bloodsucking parasites is just fine with me.

The treehuggers' excuses are all crap. Trust me when i say they're using outdated information about the oilfields.

Drilling in the '70s = yeah, it was fairly unfriendly to any environment. Drilling today = They put as much money into keeping the pad and location roads clean than they do into punching the damn hole in the ground! The controls that have to be followed are stringent and quite functional. Everything's inspected. If there's any sort of spill, the rig or production crew shuts down to clean up, spit, polish, and make sparkle whatever it was that dumped onto the ground.

Right now, in a little town called Noble, LA, a 17k+ ft. (including lateral/horizontal drilling. TVD should be around 13k feet. That's "true vertical depth") natural gas well is being drilled right near the banks of Toledo Bend Reservoir. The surrounding area. . . clean. The mosquitoes. . . fat. Contamination of any nearby water. . . non-existent.

Current projects that I'm aware of in Alaska are given far more scrutiny than this little project I just mentioned.

Drill the piss out of it. Frac the hell out of the formations. Pipe it up and out. Gimme cheap gas.Whether or not Sarah Palin carries it out, I don't care. Just get the damn oil and drown a few enviro-wackos in it on the way back to town. ---end of line---

I'm quite the tree-hugger then. If we exploited our own biofuel potentials instead of drilling and gave people tax incentives to buy cars that run on them, we could be the world's top producer of fuel considering we have nearly the most arable land left of any country on the planet, and we wouldn't have to continue fighting said wars. And that goes without even talking about wind, solar, etc which is often done on land that isn't arable.

But nope. The oil companies buy too many people in the media and government for that to happen.

(I know the common retort is "Well the oil companies are 'energy' companies now and they're starting to produce more than just petroleum," yeah check their recent profits and then tell me they're really investing in alternative energy.)

<b>(\__/)</b>
<b>(='.'=)</b> This is Bunny. Put him in your signature and help
<b>(")_(")</b> him on his way to world domination.

I'm quite the tree-hugger then. If we exploited our own biofuel potentials instead of drilling and gave people tax incentives to buy cars that run on them, we could be the world's top producer of fuel considering we have nearly the most arable land left of any country on the planet, and we wouldn't have to continue fighting said wars. And that goes without even talking about wind, solar, etc which is often done on land that isn't arable.

But nope. The oil companies buy too many people in the media and government for that to happen.

(I know the common retort is "Well the oil companies are 'energy' companies now and they're starting to produce more than just petroleum," yeah check their recent profits and then tell me they're really investing in alternative energy.)

I agree 100%. But until Kimberly Smith the Soccer Mom decides to actually buy a vehicle that's good for the environment instead of a hallway on wheels that will carry her 5 kids and all twelve of each of their friends half a block down the street when they could just as easily walk, or until Hummers and Cadillac SUVs aren't a fad and "Cool" thing to have, we're stuck being oil dependent. People go out of their way to denounce driving cars, and that walking is healthier, but make excuses when found driving a mile down the road for a loaf of bread from the store.

I'd LOVE to not have to use Alaskas oil. I'd love for people to grow brains and understand that fuel efficient vehicles are GOOD things, and that energy CAN be found in other areas. Even if the guv'mint says it's possible, people don't listen. The populous is stupid and won't generally go for it. But until we're able to convince the stupid people that YES! Alternate energy is a GOOD idea, I say we should use what we have, and not rely on other folks black gold.

Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.
Such a heavy burden now to be "The One".
Born to bear and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see.

The oil companies don't buy anything except mineral and property rights. They invest in "alternative energy" because they're forced to by foolish individuals who really have no clue about . . . anything. I'm really not sure what you mean about them buying off media and politicians. Profit or no, the petro folks are on a leash held up by some of the most moronic creatures that somehow weaseled their way into leadership positions. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-LA is one of them.

Wind - How you gonna store the juice generated? A battery with that kind of capacity doesn't exist. AND AND AND!!! I've passed these monstrosities being carted up US 59 on the backs of 18-wheelers with front and rear escorts. What kinda carbon footprint is that, eh? Oh wait, that's right. It's okay when Hollywood takes a Learjet and limo to talk about endangered *insert nonexistent species of plant or animal here* but when I'm just trying to make ends meet and keep a roof over the head of my wife and kid, it's a terrible thing.

Solar - There's potential in using it as a backup or secondary source, but there's these things called clouds that Al Gore hasn't managed to get rid of just yet. Damnable things prevent it from being a primary source! And all that rain just keeps cooling off the cells. Whatever will they do about that?

Okay, all that aside. Arable land was mentioned. As I type this, a well that could prove to be very productive is being punched in the middle of a cornfield in southwestern Arkansas. The land owner is being paid handsomely for that acre he can't plant corn on right now. Is his corn affected? Not at all save that one acre, but with the money he'll make over the course of the next year that one acre will be pennies on the dollar. Hell, he'll be sitting pretty after the location road, rig lease, and a whole bunch of other things are factored in. He'll be able to pick between five more acres to plant, new equipment, a sports car for the missus, or building a new house. Might even be able to do a couple of those things.

Look, I didn't mean to go off on some pedantic tangent with this topic, but it kinda matters to me. If you don't agree with me when it comes to crucial issues, that's fine. Maybe I believed differently at one point in life, but when you start raising a family, have to pay the bills, and forget what it was like to be able to game all day (God, I miss that!), things fall into a new perspective. From what I gather, most of you are a few years behind me in age. You can call me a bitter grump who's getting old before his time because I tend to be that. You can also maybe take something I have to say and learn a bit from it. Trust me, it MIGHT do you a touch of good. You see what kind of decent human Res is, right? I taught him a lot of that *ninja'ing own expletive!* or at least pointed him the right way. He will now probably beat me soundly when I next see him.

Damnit! You people are too fast. Let me add on that alternative energy IS good, but for the love of God, please get it perfected before you cram it down our throats! I would much rather drive something that is going to keep me and mine safe in the event of an accident than the equivalent of a golf cart coated in a few Coke cans. The oil reserves - we need to have the ability to access them should the need arise. There's no fueling of a war here. It started when Bill Clinton got us screwed over and dependent on OPEC. But certain people WANT us to be dependent on others that honestly don't care about our well-being. Global warming/climate change - a farce. Mother Nature takes out the trash every day, and she does it by cycling the thermostat every couple of decades.

Meh, lemme stop before I break a blood vessel or something.

ADDENDUM: Go figure. I just received a service call to the aforementioned rig in SW Arkansas. Looks like a long night ahead!

The oil companies don't buy anything except mineral and property rights. They invest in "alternative energy" because they're forced to by foolish individuals who really have no clue about . . . anything. I'm really not sure what you mean about them buying off media and politicians. Profit or no, the petro folks are on a leash held up by some of the most moronic creatures that somehow weaseled their way into leadership positions. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-LA is one of them.

You are correct that they have been forced to recently by liberal bills in the government, but ultimately it's a sham. The real reason for the lack of motivation of the populace and the government is due to their lobbying power. They fund politicians' campaigns that they want in office that are fierce advocates of the free market and have no realistic beliefs in intervention, and they fund and therefore influence much mainstream media reporting by heavy advertising, keeping the public opinion under control as well. Have you ever watched any of the major news networks in the past 2-3 years?

As for the profit quips, it was the truth: there's something wrong when they're receiving record profits in the middle of a recession. Of course this is tied to the price of oil which skyrocketed presumably after peak oil hit, but regardless their profits were after taxes and expenditures, meaning it all went to either paying down their debt or into the pockets of the people at the top.

QUOTE (ThereIsNoBo @ Jul 6 2009, 08:05 PM)

Wind - How you gonna store the juice generated? A battery with that kind of capacity doesn't exist. AND AND AND!!! I've passed these monstrosities being carted up US 59 on the backs of 18-wheelers with front and rear escorts. What kinda carbon footprint is that, eh? Oh wait, that's right. It's okay when Hollywood takes a Learjet and limo to talk about endangered *insert nonexistent species of plant or animal here* but when I'm just trying to make ends meet and keep a roof over the head of my wife and kid, it's a terrible thing.

Solar - There's potential in using it as a backup or secondary source, but there's these things called clouds that Al Gore hasn't managed to get rid of just yet. Damnable things prevent it from being a primary source! And all that rain just keeps cooling off the cells. Whatever will they do about that?

A battery with the capacity will never exist if no one is motivated enough to invent one.

Solar farms are generally placed in deserts. A better smartass comment would've been "we haven't solved the problem of the rotation of the earth just yet."

You're right about contradictions made by so-called "environmentalists," (e.g. Al Gore buying carbon credits, ugh) but unfortunately again it's only because cap&trade benefits the people in power by giving them a way to say they're "going green" without actually doing anything real themselves.

QUOTE (ThereIsNoBo @ Jul 6 2009, 08:05 PM)

Okay, all that aside. Arable land was mentioned. As I type this, a well that could prove to be very productive is being punched in the middle of a cornfield in southwestern Arkansas. The land owner is being paid handsomely for that acre he can't plant corn on right now. Is his corn affected? Not at all save that one acre, but with the money he'll make over the course of the next year that one acre will be pennies on the dollar. Hell, he'll be sitting pretty after the location road, rig lease, and a whole bunch of other things are factored in. He'll be able to pick between five more acres to plant, new equipment, a sports car for the missus, or building a new house. Might even be able to do a couple of those things.

His corn would be worth a heluva lot more than the oil on his land if it was being grown for the sake of a biofuel megacorp (which would drive the prices of biofuels up just as the oil companies have with their own product) and not food. Don't get me wrong: I'm not angry at the oil companies for your stereotypical environmental reasons. I just think this is a more practical way to go about things taking into consideration the way our foreign policy and foreign oil dependence is.

QUOTE (ThereIsNoBo @ Jul 6 2009, 08:05 PM)

Look, I didn't mean to go off on some pedantic tangent with this topic, but it kinda matters to me. If you don't agree with me when it comes to crucial issues, that's fine. Maybe I believed differently at one point in life, but when you start raising a family, have to pay the bills, and forget what it was like to be able to game all day (God, I miss that!), things fall into a new perspective. From what I gather, most of you are a few years behind me in age. You can call me a bitter grump who's getting old before his time because I tend to be that. You can also maybe take something I have to say and learn a bit from it. Trust me, it MIGHT do you a touch of good. You see what kind of decent human Res is, right? I taught him a lot of that *ninja'ing own expletive!* or at least pointed him the right way. He will now probably beat me soundly when I next see him.

Ah yes, the angry old man excuse. We're all just pipe dreamers after all.

Except things like going to the Moon happened. Ending the Cold War happened (before you ask, yes, I do give Reagan his due). The Interstate Highway System happened. All three of these were only possible through massive expenditures by the federal government, and ironically all of them happened under Republican administrations.

Again, it's all about rallying public support and not allowing the public to be manipulated by the greed of some people in the government and those sitting atop skyscrapers.

I happen to also support myself while going to college full time (I'm twenty-one), and take joy in paying my taxes and going to jury duty and even intend to serve in the Navy after school because I happen to love my country and have a long tradition of it in my family. Us tree-huggin' liberals are so unpatriotic.

QUOTE (ThereIsNoBo @ Jul 6 2009, 08:05 PM)

Damnit! You people are too fast. Let me add on that alternative energy IS good, but for the love of God, please get it perfected before you cram it down our throats! I would much rather drive something that is going to keep me and mine safe in the event of an accident than the equivalent of a golf cart coated in a few Coke cans. The oil reserves - we need to have the ability to access them should the need arise. There's no fueling of a war here. It started when Bill Clinton got us screwed over and dependent on OPEC. But certain people WANT us to be dependent on others that honestly don't care about our well-being. Global warming/climate change - a farce. Mother Nature takes out the trash every day, and she does it by cycling the thermostat every couple of decades.

Meh, lemme stop before I break a blood vessel or something.

ADDENDUM: Go figure. I just received a service call to the aforementioned rig in SW Arkansas. Looks like a long night ahead!

I'm not sure how many times I've used the word motivation (in this case specifically towards research), but yeah. You get the point.

I'll restate that I don't care for an "environmental" agenda, but don't find our current situation to be practical in the long run.

I love a good debate. I hope nothing was too personal, but if anything seemed that way I apologize. I respect you just as anyone else, but like you I like to throw in some sarcasm.

<b>(\__/)</b>
<b>(='.'=)</b> This is Bunny. Put him in your signature and help
<b>(")_(")</b> him on his way to world domination.